IndexWe Are Born Good or Bad: Human Nature in "Lord of the Flies"ConclusionWorks CitedThe question of whether humans are naturally good or bad becomes a topic of discussion when people see it happen something morally wrong in their life and then they start to wonder why some people do bad things. They begin to wonder: Are humans born evil by nature, is it an internal condition that is actually subjugated by the rules and norms of society? Or are humans in fact instinctively good people and the evil we encounter is an external condition that occupies our goodness? In the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, a group of young boys from a private school become stranded on an island where their means of survival are limited. Upon their arrival, most of the boys were decent boys, however, after living on the island for only a few days, the reader can see how the change in the boys' environment affects their attitude towards others and the situation as a whole. Together. A new climate can affect how people think and act towards others. Therefore, human beings are intrinsically and fundamentally good people until they are tempted by evil or exposed to a corrupt environment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Experiments have been conducted with children to suggest the idea that every person is born intrinsically good. It also demonstrates that children can distinguish between good and evil, and when given the choice, they will choose good every time. In an article, “Babies Tell Right from Wrong,” they tested this idea on a ten-month-old, an eight-month-old, and a three-month-old. A child watched a ball try to climb a hill. While the ball is trying to rise, a square might block its path, or a triangle might try to help the ball. When asked to choose between the square or the triangle, the children chose the triangle every time. In this article featured by the New York Post in 2013, the author of the piece, Susannah Cahalan, quotes Yale University psychologist and cognitive scientist, Paul Bloom, who reads: "...children have a general appreciation of behavior good and bad, one that spans a range of interactions, including ones that children have most likely never seen before.” In essence, people are born good but don't always stay that way. As children, “we generally value good behavior and that bad” and we understand what is right and what is wrong. Even children who cannot speak know if something is immoral and unethical, which means that today we understand it, but our way of seeing things may be distorted based on the past experiences. The obstacles people face will influence how we become and how we treat others. We are born good or bad: human nature in "Lord of the Flies" This idea is shown in Lord of the Flies when the boys get stuck on the island and are forced to change their way of life. At the beginning of the novel, the kids on the island are young, innocent kids. One of the book's main antagonists, Jack, has done many horrendous things over the course of the novel, however, even Jack can be shown as a relatively sane person when he first arrives on the island. On page 31 of chapter 1, the boys realize how hungry they are, so Jack goes out and tries to kill a pig for dinner. “Jack drew the knife again with a flourish… There was a pause, a pause… The pause wasjust long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward blow would be." Jack's hesitation in killing the pig at the beginning of the novel shows that he still has some humanity left in him. When "a break came", it shows that the thought of killing the pig was too much for Jack to handle, but then he promises to finish next time because the shame of not following through is worse Jack is still a normal person who understands the difference between right and what which is wrong because it is only on the island by a few days, the longer he and the rest of the boys are there, the more their moral compass will collapse. As the novel progresses, however, Jack and the rest of the boys lose their humanity after realizing that they will most likely fail. get something off the island. This means that they have to completely change their way of life from before. Once they recognize this difficult situation, they begin to doubt each other and ignore all the rules they had established. Their new mentality is that they no longer need order. Jack is one of the first kids to neglect the rules, causing the few guidelines left on the island to completely disappear. He becomes mischievous and cares about no one but himself, being controlled by the pursuit of individual happiness. This new environment that he and all the boys are forced to adapt to forces their wild instincts to come out into the open. When Jack begins to talk about killing a pig, “Madness is back in Jack's eyes again. 'I thought I could kill'.” Jack states that he needs to kill the pigs so that all the boys can eat, but when he talks about killing the pigs, "madness came into his eyes." The boys, who had previously chosen Ralph as their leader, now begin to lean towards Jack because they can no longer stand hunger. At that moment they indulged in barbaric ways. Food is a necessity, so they have to get it, but what is of concern is how they get it. While the boys were killing the bore, “she ran into a tree, driving a spear even deeper; and after that any hunter could easily have followed her through the drops of vivid blood.” The kids went from an understandable food-related massacre to something totally different. Hunting is no longer just about getting meat to eat, but rather about using your power over a defenseless animal. Being on the island forced Jack and the rest of the hunters to become inhumane by performing these horrible acts towards the pig, such as "forcing her with a spear". They could have simply done what is reasonable and respectful by quickly killing it just to eat, but instead they terrorized it and played with it like a toy. All the boys have gone through a series of unfortunate circumstances and because of this they decide that the only way to survive is to have evil overtake them. While there are many people who point to Ralph as a character who resists the temptation of evil, this is actually not the case. Ralph is actually shown killing multiple people. As the boys began to perform their terrifying dance, Piggy and Ralph joined them: “Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of heaven, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly safe society.” Ralph pretended to stay away from the hunters, but as soon as the singing and dancing began, he joined them. Ralph found himself "eager" to join in the dance, which shows how he fell under peer pressure, leading him to participate in the act of killing Simon. At this point, Ralph has turned more to savagery than civility. Please note: this is just an example. Get an item now..